Structured, microporous oxides are utilized in a multitude of catalytic and sorption/separation processes in the petroleum and petrochemical industry. The most widely known group of materials falling in this category are the aluminosilicate zeolites. See Breck, D. W., "Zeolite Molecular Sieves", Wiley, N.Y., 1984.
Recently, new microporous materials, such as aluminophosphates, silicoaluminophosphates and metalloaluminophosphates, have been synthesized using an organic templating species. See, Wilson et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc.. Vol. 104, p. 1147, 1982; Lok et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,440,871; and Lok et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., Vol. 106, p. 6092, 1984. These materials demonstrate two very important factors concerning the synthesis of molecular sieves: (a) that three-dimensional microporous materials can be crystallized from highly acidic reaction media and (b., that sometimes components other than silicon and aluminum will generate porous oxide frameworks. In the case of zinc phosphate phases, however, porous oxide frameworks have not, until now, been generated.
For example, structural studies have been carried out on the zinc phosphate phase (H.sub.3 O)ZnPO.sub.4. See, Sandomirskii et al., Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR, Vol. 236(3), pp. 597-600, 1977 and Averbuch-Pouchot, Acta. Cryst, Vol. B35, pp. 1452-1454, 1979. Similar studies have been conducted for other zinc phosphate phases; see Kabalov et al., Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR, Vol. 202(4), pp. 823-826, 1972; Averbuch-Pouchot et al., Acta. Cryst., Vol. C39, pp. 25-26, 1983; Averbuch-Pouchot, Zeitschrift Fur Kristallographic, Vol. 171, pp. 113-119, 1985. These zirc phosphate phases all lack any substantial porosity. One indication of this is that these materials are not hydroxylated nor do they contain sorbed water.
It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to make new microporous oxides of zinc and phosphorous or arsenic.